Nothing brings relief to the dog days of summer like a thorough drenching at a water park. Orlando's all-wet attractions share certain characteristics: lazy rivers, raft rides, wave pools, upscale cabanas and combo-ticket ties to theme parks. Today we dive into distinctive elements of our four full-blown, stand-alone water parks.

The International Drive mainstay packs a lot of attractions into a small space and appeals to teens and young adults.

Intensity is high on select rides, especially Bomb Bay, where the floor drops out from underneath your feet, beginning a trek down a nearly vertical slide, just you and your swimsuit. Every rider exits the area with a wide-eyed look and/or rapidly speaking Portuguese.

The sign for Storm suggests you be a strong swimmer because you're going down a chute, around a misty cauldron and unceremoniously dumped out the bottom. It's so disorienting a worker calls out "this way, this way" to flailing Storm survivors.

The park sells express passes that allow front-of-line access for select rides. The price varies — Sunday's charge for unlimited cuts was $40. By afternoon, some waits were 60 minutes.

Piped-in music is more contemporary than the themes found at other water parks. But if you want to hear sounds of the '70s, head to the mouth of the Disco H20 ride, where they are on endless loop.

Parking is across Universal Boulevard, but be careful as pedestrians and drivers alike tend to play a perilous game of chicken.